1. Field of the Invention
present invention relates to a method for connecting one conductor cable with a second conductor cable in an uninterrupted connection area free of cable insulation of the second cable using a cable connector wherein the cable connector is provided with a connecting device for connecting the first conductor cable and a linking device inside of a housing for insertion of the second cable in the cable connector and for electrically connecting the first cable with the second cable, wherein the connecting device and the linking device are aligned to one another so that the first and second cable are joined angularly, preferably approximately rectangular to one another. The present invention also relates to a cable connector having a connecting device for connecting a first conductor cable and a linking device inside of a housing for insertion of a connection area which is free of cable insulation of a second cable and for connecting the first cable with the second cable, wherein the connecting device and the linking device are aligned so that the first and second cable are joined angularly, preferably approximately rectangular to one another.
2. Description of the Related Art
A connecting method of the type mentioned above is an already-known prior art, as is the corresponding cable connector. These types of connectors are known in practice as so-called T-connectors. In those T-connectors known from practice, the connection of the first cable with the second cable is comparably complex. Generally, the second cable has to be taken apart in order to connect it with the first cable, the cable and individual wire insulation need to be removed. This is comparably complex.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a connecting method and a cable connector each of the type mentioned above, wherein in each case the connection of a first conductor cable with a second conductor cable is possible in a simple manner.
The task prefaced and described above is essentially accomplished according to the invention using a connecting method of the above-mentioned type, that after the removal of the cable insulation from the connection area of the second cable, the areas of the second cable provided with insulation are pushed together in the direction of the connection area so that individual wires fan out, that the fanned-out, insulated wires are each inserted in grooves of the lower housing part of the housing which are aligned at least partially obliquely to the longitudinal axis of the housing, that an upper housing part is placed on the lower housing part, and that as the cable conductor is pushed together, knife-switch prongs cut through the wire insulation of the individual wires of the second cable with one end and contact the conductors. The arrangement provides a housing made of two parts consisting of a lower housing part and an upper housing part, that a plurality of grooves for the insertion of wires from the second cable are provided in the lower housing part, that at least a part of the grooves, in any case, also have an area which is aligned obliquely to the longitudinal axis of the housing, that knife-switch prongs are provided which have one end directed at the grooves and which cut through the wire insulation and contact the conductor of the second cable as the cable connector is pushed together, and that the knife-switch prong is connectable to the conductor of the first cable with its second end.
The result of the invention is that a connecting method and a cable connector are provided wherein a connection of the first cable with the second cable is possible in a simple manner without separating the second cable. Through the fanning out of the wires from the connection area of the second cable and the fan-like arrangement of the wires in the housing, a connection is possible in a simple manner through the knife-switch prong. Due to the connection occurring through the knife-switch prong, it is not necessary to strip the open-ended conductors or wires of the connection area in order to produce an electrical connection with the first cable.
In order to keep the insulation-free connection area of the second cable as small as possible and to be able to ensure a simple manner for the fanning-out of the individual wires over the grooves in the lower housing part, the first and second cable openings on the housing which allow the second cable to pass through are shifted and have a substantially parallel alignment to one another. This shifted arrangement of the cable openings creates an xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d or wave shape of the grooves extending from the openings. The grooves are for the most part on one level so that in the active state, the wires are also arranged on one level. Due to the adjacently arranged individual wires, the grooved area of the housing has a width which is much greater than the diameter of the second cable.
In order to be able to insert the individual wires of the second cable in the lower housing part in a simple manner, the width of the individual grooves is smaller than the diameter of the individual wires. Hereby, clamping of the individual wires into the each groove simplifies the mounting of the wires. By the way, it is important for the inventive cable connector that the individual wires of the second cable are inserted in the xe2x80x9ccorrectxe2x80x9d grooves so that an electrical connection can be produced with the xe2x80x9ccorrectxe2x80x9d conductors of the first cable. In order to make a simple arrangement possible and to make optical examination possible, the individual grooves are assigned different colors or markings so that the danger of a misconnection between the conductors of the first and second cables is reduced.
In order to avoid damage to the linking points between the first and second cables due to an unintentional pull on the second cable, a traction relief which is operative on the cable insulation is provided in the area of the first and second cable openings. Occurring tractive forces are transferred to the housing through the traction relief. The linking points in the area of the knife-switch prongs are thus spared from the tractive forces operative on the second cable.
By the way, a length should be chosen for each sleeve-shaped traction relief that is longer than the diameter of the second cable. It is hereby ensured that each traction relief has a certain longitudinal stretch. The longitudinal stretch of the traction relief ensures that when the connection area is unintentionally made too large, i.e. too much cable insulation is removed, the second cable can be arranged in the housing in such a way than the traction relief is operative on the cable insulation.
It is preferred that the traction relief consists of two parts and that a first U-shaped segment is situated in the lower housing part and a second U-shaped segment is situated on the upper housing part. It is ensured through the bipartite construction and especially the U-shaped segment that the lower housing part can grasp onto the area of the second cable which has not been stripped of its insulation after the fanning-out of the wires.
After the fanning-out of the wires of the second cable and the arrangement of the fanned-out wires in the lower housing part, it is necessary to close the housing.
Therby, a reversible method should be chosen for connecting the two housing parts. For this purpose, the upper housing part should be able to be screwed onto the lower housing part. In order to be able to produce a screwing method which is simple and fast, the lower housing part is provided with external threading on the threaded joint section and a corresponding nut on the upper housing part is provided with internal, sectional threading. This method of screwing already provides an attachment after placing the nut on the threaded joint section and turning it slightly. In addition, or as an alternative to the said screwing method, it is also possible to connect the two housing parts using a threaded bore and screws. It is preferred to place the threaded bores each near the cable openings in order to push the traction relief down hard on the cable insulation. Should both screwing methods be used, the nut with internal, sectional threading should be screwed on first in order to achieve a preliminary attachment. After each individual screw is tightened into the threaded bores, the nut with internal, sectional threading should be screwed on further.
In order to provide a simple manner for connecting the first cable, the connecting device has a knife-switch prong carrier for the knife-switch prongs, a sleeve-shaped uptake with external threading, a central splicing part in the uptake with wire tractor channels to lead and curve the wires of the first cable and a union nut to screw onto the uptake. As the union nut is screwed onto the uptake, the knife-switch prongs dip down with their second end into a slot on the central splicing element which leads to the wire tractor channel, wherein the wire insulation of the individual wires is cut through and a contact is made with the conductor of the first cable.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the knife-switch prong carrier and the uptake are integrally constructed on the upper housing part. Thus, the upper housing part already forms a part of the connecting device.
The invention is further described in detail using the drawings showing a preferred embodiment.